Cris Cyborg: Champion of Hearts

The Brazilian powerhouse is ready to face Arlene Blencowe at Bellator 279 in Honolulu to defend her Featherweight title

Story by Evelyn Sutton. Photos and videos by Blanca Marisa Garcia

Bellator MMA held a special pre-fight press conference for the upcoming Bellator 279: “Cyborg vs Blencowe 2”, which takes place on Saturday April 23, 2022 at the Neal S. Blaisdell Arena in Honolulu, Hawaii. Cris Cyborg puts her women’s featherweight title on the line against Arlene Blencowe in the main event. The ladies have faced each other before in 2020, when Cyborg defeated Blencowe at Bellator 249. This will be Cyborg’s fourth title defense under Bellator.

“I love to fight, and I always want to be the champion, but to be the champion of people’s hearts for me is the most important,” says Cyborg “Today, I hold the belt but maybe I won’t be holding it tomorrow, in the people’s hearts I will always be the champion.”

At 36 years old, Cyborg shared her motivation to keep on fighting after so many years in the sport: “I like to continue to share my faith, continue to help the community, promote events in Brazil and help open the door for other fighters. This is my motivation to fight every day.”

Cristiane Justino (Cyborg) started her sports career at twelve years old In Brazil, playing handball at a national league. Her athletic aptitude and success in sports, won her numerous scholarships from private universities, she decided to study physical education in the city of Curitiba, capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. Not long after that, she was discovered by Rudimar Fedrigo, a Chute Boxe Academy trainer who was impressed by her strength and encouraged Cyborg to enter the world of women’s MMA.

Before adopting the nickname “Cyborg”, Justino made her professional debut in MMA at the age of 19 on May 17, 2005 at Showfight 2 against multiple time world BJJ champion Erica Paes. Cyborg lost the fight via submission, which remained her only professional loss in MMA until 2018, when she lost to Amanda Nunes.

Cyborg first rose to prominence when she defeated Gina Carano via first-round technical knock-out winning the Strikeforce title on August 15, 2009. Currently, she is Bellator’s women’s Featherweight Champion since 2020. A former UFC, Strikeforce and Invicta FC World Featherweight Champion, Cris Cyborg is the only MMA fighter in history, male or female, to become a Grand Slam Champion, holding world championships across four major mixed martial arts promotions. A pioneer of women’s MMA, she is considered one of the greatest female mixed martial artists of all time.

The stacked card also features Juan Archuleta and Raufeon Stots and their interim Bantamweight championship fight, which will co-headline Bellator 279. The fight will also be the first matchup of the promotion’s Bantamweight Grand Prix, with the winner getting closer to the coveted $1 million prize.

Also in attendance during the press conference to promote their upcoming fights at Bellator 277 this Friday night in San Jose, California were current featherweight champion AJ McKee who will defend his title against Patricio “Pitbull” Freire, and Vadim Nemkov who goes against Corey Anderson in the light heavyweight co-main event.

For more info visit Bellator MMA